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Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul is a radical international Eco-Terrorist who had been around for hundreds of years. Ra's believed that the evils of humanity were a blight on our planet, and sought to extinguish them through whatever means that he deemed necessary. Through an international cabal named the League of Assassins, Ra's manipulated world events to achieve his own ends. Although most of his power came from his immense influence, he was also a formidable combatant, having the benefit of many lifetimes worth of experience and accumulated skill. Ra's achieved his immortality through the ancient Lazarus Pits. History Rise of the Demon The man who become known as Ra's al Ghul was born in the 1320’s to a tribe of nomads in a desert somewhere in Arabia, near a city whose inhabitants' ancestors had journeyed to the Arabian Peninsula from China. He grew up to be an ambitious Arabian physician and married a woman whom he loved deeply named Sora. In the next few years, Ra's discovered the secret of the Lazarus Pits, which he used to gain wealth and fame. However, it also made him a target. Local bandits had heard of this physician’s wealth and sought to make an impressive haul. When Ra's refused to relinquish his gold, the bandits beat Ra's to such a degree that they thought him dead. When Ra's woke up, he saw his state in ruins and his young wife murdered. Furious but in no shape to retaliate, Ra's made his way to the Lazarus Pit and did what he had never done before: he submerged himself. When he came out, he was not only healed, but also filled with renewed purpose. Ra's returned home and convinced the head of his tribe, his father, to follow him in his quest for revenge by promising the downfall of the king of the city. By understanding the germ theory of disease hundreds of years before anyone else, Ra's was able to infect the bandits with a deadly virus by sending him contaminated fabrics. Ra's then led his tribe to raze the city to the ground and killed all of its inhabitants. Subsequently, Ra's declared himself: "The Demon's Head." Over the next several centuries, Ra's built up an organization of loyal followers which would later be known as the League of Assassins. For hundreds of years, Ra's walked the Earth, becoming a master of combat and passing his teachings onto his followers, building up his empire. He would sire several children, only two of whom would impress their father enough to gain access to the Pits (Talia and Nyssa). In the later 1770’s, Ra's would befriend loyal follower known as Damien Darhk. He personally groomed Damien as his successor and showed him the secrets of the Lazarus Pit. Shortly after, Damien stole waters from the Pit and fled into the night. In 1993 Malcolm Merlyn joined the group but was eventually released from his bond to the League by Ra's. After Malcolm broke the League's code by initiating The Undertaking Ra's realized his mistake and marked Malcolm for death. In December of 2006, Ra's al Ghul traveled to Bhutan under the guise of Henri Ducard and appeared to Bruce Wayne, who was serving a prison sentence for theft. ‘Ducard’ offered Bruce the opportunity to find the justice that he seeks. Bruce accepted and the two departed from the prison the next day. Heir It didn't take Bruce long to deduce that ‘Henri Ducard’ was merely an operational alias used by the immortal ‘mastermind’ of the League, Ra's al Ghul. Upon his recruitment into the League in December of 2006, Bruce caught the eye of Ra's Ghul’s eldest daughter, Talia. Training under David Cain, Bruce eventually surpassed Cain’s teachings and began tutoring under Ra's himself. It was during this time that Bruce began a passionate love affair with Talia. Ra's eventually discovered this and with his blessing, the two married in mid-2008, with Ra's naming Bruce his successor. The two remained together until Bruce departed from the League in early 2011 under mysterious circumstances. At some point after this, Ra's and Talia became at odds. Because of that, Talia left to follow her own path by forming her own cult of warriors known as The Leviathan. After her departure, Ra's declared Nyssa as Heir to the Demon. In late 2008, Ra's sent his daughter Nyssa to rescue and recruit Slade Wilson on the island of Lian Yu. Once there, she discovered a starving Sara Lance, who she rescued and brought back to the League. Sara would be inducted under the name ‘The Canary’ and would remain with them until June of 2013 when she returned to Star City in search of her family following the Undertaking. Plans for Gotham In December of 2012, Ra's began to lay the groundwork for revenge against Bruce and his rejection of his ‘destiny’. When Black Mask hired eight assassins to kill the Batman, one of the assassins was none other than Shiva, an immensely skilled operative under the command of Ra's, who was given orders to accept the proposition and put Batman through a series of tests and implement operations that would be instrumental in his plans years later for the city. Those plans involved Shiva contacting political activist, Quincy Sharp, who had been observed by the League of Assassins as being an ideal for a pawn due to his power-hungry and political ambitions of becoming Mayor, and convince him to open up Arkham Asylum, which had been previously shut down after numerous cases of illegal activities and experimentation. Shiva assured Sharp that by reopening that institution, he could use it as a prison to contain the more dangerous criminals, and gain massive public support to nominate him and eventually elect him as Mayor, though she reminded him that it would still take some time to accomplish all that and patience was required as a result. In reality, Ra's and Shiva planned for the opening of the asylum to eventually start a chain reaction of events that would culminate in the opening of an even more brutal prison that would pave the way for the destruction of Gotham City and its population. To further their designs, Ra's gave Shiva control over a squadron of his trained soldiers and ordered her to use them to murder corrupt officers and criminals in order to draw Batman out in the open and into a series of tests to see just what the hero was capable of. In the end, Batman proved to be just as Ra's had hoped: skilled, honorable, and persistent. While Batman refused to take a life, no matter how corrupt, Shiva gave him a reprieve and hoped that one day the hero would learn that Gotham could not be saved, only torn down and rebuilt from the ashes. By the end of the night, the Joker's destructive plans lead to the brutal deaths of nearly a thousand people and the destruction of many of the city's structures. That allowed Quincy Sharp to use the chaos as incentive to start a campaign to reopen Arkham Asylum, a goal that was eventually solidified not too long afterward after the continuous riots and breakouts at Blackgate Prison, and was previously the sole prison for all of Gotham's criminals. Retrival of Sara Ra's sent a messenger to Sara Lance, ordering her return, though she refused and killed the messenger when he declined to report to Ra's that he had not found her, as she wanted. Around a week later, he sent Al-Owal and a team of assassins to bring Sara back by force, only to lose his team to both Sara and Oliver Queen. Ra's was later contacted by Moira Queen after Malcolm mentioned that he went to Nanda Parbat. After learning Malcolm was alive, it was revealed that Ra's wanted to kill him for breaking the League's code of honor with The Undertaking. Ra's sent Nyssa and another League member to once again try to bring Sara Lance back to Nanda Parbat, though Nyssa ultimately released Sara from the League. As a result of her disobedience, Ra's denounced Nyssa as the Heir to the Demon. With his Lazarus Pit losing its value, Ra's quickly searched for an alternative. Justice for Sara When Nyssa arrived back at Nanda Parbat from a visit to Star City, she confirmed Malcolm Merlyn was still alive and that Sara Lance had been killed. Ra's informed his daughter that Malcolm would face consequences for crimes against the League's code. Ra's asked about Oliver Queen, and he learned of Oliver's oath to protect Malcolm at any cost. Ra's took this to mean that Oliver was courting war with the League as well. To find justice for Sara Lance's death, Ra's sent a squad of assassins, led by Nyssa and Sarab, to capture Oliver. They informed Oliver that he would be given 48 hours to find Sara's killer or the League would begin killing innocent civilians until the killer was caught. After the time was up, Ra's and various League members traveled to Starling City in preparation. However, Oliver met with them, falsely claiming to have killed Sara upon her request. By League law, he was entitled to a trial by combat, and so Ra's accepted the duel, allowing Sarab to tell Oliver of the neutral meeting place. The two met atop a mountain sometime later. Following tradition, they both removed their shirts, and Oliver picked up two swords against Ra's who was bare-handed. They began fighting, Ra's dodging each attack with his hands behind his back, and soon disarming Oliver and fighting with the blades. Ra's easily parried Oliver's strikes and promptly cut him. He led him back to the edge of the mountain. Impressed that he had lasted longer than most, Oliver was given a chance to steal back the blade, however, Ra's quickly caught the blade as Oliver stabbed at him, disarming him once again. He promptly stabbed Oliver in the chest, saying a quick prayer before pushing the dying Oliver over the edge, and tossing the sword to the ground as a grave for Oliver. Searching Star City Upon learning that Oliver survived due to Maseo and Tatsu, he sent a group of League recruits to capture him, but the group was defeated by Oliver and Laurel Lance. He himself then went to Star City. His daughter brought him Malcolm, who promised to give Ra's a Pit in exchange for his life. Ra's agreed and was informed that there is Lazarus Pit beneath Star City. Intent on burning Star City to the ground, he found himself at odds with Nyssa who had grown found of the city. After he refused to kill Malcolm, she left the League. Locating the Pit, Ra's found the Pit inactive and needed to use the life sources of others to rejuvenate his own. His began abducting and brainwashing of victims in order to provide blood for the Pit. He arrived in time to stop The Arrow and Arsenal from saving their prisoners when the vigilante had discovered their hideout, first throwing a pair of the Bo Shuriken at them to make them aware of his presence. Ra's then defeated the pair of vigilantes with ease but was forced to flee when the SCPD arrived. With Team Arrow successfully rescuing the prisoners thanks to the SCPD, Ra's began to frame the Arrow for murdering criminals. He then supplied Quentin Lance with the fact that Oliver was protecting Malcolm, who had murdered his daughter. With the SCPD now against Team Arrow, Roy was forced to take the fall for the murders and fled from Star City. Ra's ruthless tactics then persuaded his daughter to ally with Team Arrow. Upon learning that his prisoners were being held at Star City General, he ordered his assassins to attack the hospital and bring the prisoners back to him. Despite resistance from Team Arrow, they successfully completed their mission. Not long after, the Cult of the Crescent arrived in Star City led by Tatsu Yamashiro. They battled the League and were defeated, with Ra's capturing Tatsu. Oliver, Laurel and Nyssa rescue her, forcing Ra's to leave with the Serum. Now with the final ingredient for the Pit, he captures Team Arrow’s Allies (John Diggle, Quentin Lance, Felicity Smoak and Ray Palmer) and holds them hostage. Oliver and Laurel free them and confront Ra's on the roof. The two are assisted by Nyssa, but continue to lose until the arrival of Malcolm, Tatsu and Thea. Despite stabbing Nyssa and cutting off the hand of Merlyn, he is defeated by Nyssa and Oliver and is beheaded by Tatsu. Return of the Demon With the League forced to flee Star City, Nyssa destroyed the Pit (after using it to resurrect Sara Lance). Forced to soak in a dying Pit, Ra's lost control of the League to Malcolm Merlyn, but regained it two years later thanks to his partnership with The Light. Powers * Reanimation: He has enhanced capabilities due to exposure to the Lazarus Formula. By extensive amounts of exposure to a synthesized version of the Lazarus and then a pure lazarus formula, he transformed into living dead being. Freeze even claims that this restorative element is bonded to his DNA. It has been stated that he is only physically alive and in spirit and soul, has already died. ** Enhanced Condition: Ra's is able to show atleast above-peak-human levels of physical strength. Ra's can exert himself for almost endless amount of time. Ra's is seen throwing his body around during his attacks & is still fighting. Ra's reacts instantaneously to any kind of attack. He can even recover quickly. ** Immortality: Ra's reanimated condition allows him to be impervious to death, as long as most of his body remains intact. Abilities * Peak of human physical condition: Due to the longevity has given to him by the Lazarus Pit and countless years of training and experience, Ra's was in top physical condition and form. Ra's had shown considerable feats of strength, speed, agility, durability and stamina that sometimes border on a low superhuman level. * Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: Ra's was a great leader, as he had led the organization for more than a century with success since he accepted the offer of becoming the next leader of the League of Assassins. His extended lifespan enabled him to gain the wisdom of the ages and is able to recognize and predict the actions of others including their mindsets. * Master Archer: Ra's is shown to be a master archer when he posed as the Arrow and took out several thugs. It can be assumed that Ra's skills in archery are at least equal to that of Oliver's if not completely superior. Still, archery is not Ra's preferred method of fighting. * Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: As the leader of the League of Assassins and with centuries worth of fighting knowledge, Ra's was exceptionally proficient and experienced in unarmed combat, having killed hundreds of men within his lifespan. During his leadership tenure, his fighting skills were unmatched by anyone in or out of the League, save for Bruce Wayne and the combined efforts of Oliver Queen and Nyssa al Ghul. * Master swordsman: Ra's preferred weapon is a sword and with his long lifespan, he is an exceptionally deadly combatant with a sword. He was able to effortlessly defeat a group of assassins in a swordfight in mere seconds. * Bilingual: Ra's is capable of speaking every language known to man. * Occult knowledge: Ra's has knowledge of magic and mysticism, as he fully understands how the Lazarus Pit functions. * Stealth/Infiltration: Ra's was able to appear without detection. Equipment * Lazarus Pits: Ra's uses the Lazarus Pit's waters to live well beyond his lifetime and run the League of Assassins. Ra's also posses the knowledge of how to awaken a an inactive Pit. * Sword: Ra's uses an ancient blade from his homeland as his main weapon. * Arsenal: Ra's posses every weapon known to man and is a master of using them. Trivia * It takes a lot to impress Ra's (and thus gain acces to a Lazarus Pit) and only two of his children have been known to do this. As a result, he has had several spouses and children that have been denied access and thus have passed on. * He has named Bruce Wayne his successor. * Only Bruce has been able to beat him in combat. Oliver Queen was also able to best him, though he required help from Ra's daughter, Nyssa. * Ra's has died and been brought back countless times. Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Batman Villains Category:Green Arrow Villains Category:League of Assassins Members